Underneath the underneath
by DemonHeat
Summary: A simple lie can change the future of a person so drastically. And when that person effects so many, the effects are drastic. AU Naruto x OC
1. Prologue

Prologue.

Chatter suddenly stopped as the small figure took another step through the hall, as the figure stepped through the hall, his orange cloak flew freely behind him from the wind in the hall, the red flames at the bottom of danced happily as he continued carefully to his destination.

_"I'm here to put the rumors at ease," The Sandaime said to the clan heads gathered in front of him. He watched as all of them leaned forward, eager to here what the old man had to say. "The Yondaime is died defeating the Kyuubi, which is now also dead as well."_

_Loud cheering quickly cleared the somber mood that hung through the room. Their Yondaime had died defending them but his sacrifice did not go in vain, he had defeated Konoha's greatest threat and brought safety to them. The Yondaime was praised amongst the group as some hugged each other with tears in their eyes while the rest chatted animatedly between them._

_"Although Minato's sacrifice is a great loss to Konoha we must press on, we must not let the loss of our loved ones push us down. We will not sleep until everyone left homeless has a bed. We will not rest until the dead have been laid eternally. We will not let the destruction destroy the Will of Fire within our hearts, today we rise from the ashes of our fallen to come back as the strongest village of all!"_

_A deafening roar was heard in the room as they all lifted their kunai as one, yelling their agreement with the Sandaime Hokage. He usually didn't do these kinds of talks but after the great blow the ninja felt to their moral, he felt as though he needed to give them a pep talk to bring them out of their stupor. A slight twinge of guilt touched his heart as he lied to his people. It had to be done; he would not forsake Minato's Legacy to a life of prejudice if he could help it._

_"How did the Fourth kill the Kyuubi then?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked with a curious look on his face._

_"The fourth defeated the Kyuubi by summoning the Shinigami. In exchange for his own life, the Death God killed the Kyuubi and took the life of Minato's as payment."_

_If there was a deafening roar when they had heard the Kyuubi had died, you could hear a pin drop at the silence in the room after hearing that news. The wide eyes of the Clan Heads made the small bundle at the Sandaime's desk giggling cutely._

The sandal of the cloak figure touched the tiled floor with small steps as the short boy continued down the hallway, each door with the same distance between each other creating a dull uniform along it. The place reminded the boy of a prison cell, used to hold the students in there for no apparent reason other than to attempt to give the students some form of innocence before they took their steps into the world as Shinobi. The long blonde hair of the boy stood freely on his head at different angles, falling over his forehead in a messy heap. His forehead protector was nowhere near his forehead, instead it was tied tightly around his bicep with the symbol of Konoha proudly emblazed the cold hard metal.

_"Bunshin no Jutsu!" The child called again. A puff of smoke came forth and a clone appeared next to the boy with a deathly white complexion laying face down. The boy gritted his teeth angrily before trying again in frustration. He continued to try over and over again as two figures watched him from the corner._

_"It's nothing out of the ordinary," Hiashi frowned. "All children attempt to learn ninjutsu early on in life. It's part of their nature to want to excel and be as strong as they can be as quickly as possible. Albeit it is a little odd that he's starting out at the age of two."_

_"That's not what I'm worried about," The Sandaime replied, his face mirroring Hiashi's for different reasons. "He's been doing this for a few days now and he still hasn't been able to do the technique even once. He's up before I leave the Manor practicing that same technique and is still doing it even when I get home, not even stopping until I'm about to go to bed. Even though he is sleeping and regenerating his Chakra he should still be completely wasted from the strain of constantly using his Chakra, he's only two."_

_Hiashi looked at the boy before quickly activating his Byakugan and scanning over the boy. His eyes widened as he saw the child glow brighter and brighter with chakra with every hand seal, literally choking the newly created clown with chakra. He turned to the Hokage and explained the situation before turning to leave. As he left he watched as the Sandaime Hokage moved in front of the boy and took his hands in his. He closed his hands over the child's fingers, moving them into a cross like fashion and whispering in his ears. Turning he moved his hand up and pushed the door out of the way._

_"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

His steps slowed as he reached a door with two ANBU nin standing at the entrance of the door. Neither of them even bothered looking down as they both moved out of the way to allow the child entrance.

_"Congratulations Naru-kun," The third smiled as he fastened the forehead protector around Naruto's head. The boy quickly removed the forehead protector scratching his forehead. "At Three years old you're the youngest Genin in the history of Konoha._

He slowly pushed the door open before taking small timid steps into the entry of the room.

_He jumped quickly before burying his kunai into the neck of the nin in front of him. Flipping backwards he kicked low, sending leaves into the air before disappearing and reappearing in place of them, stabbing the enemy sneaking up behind him in the ribs before reappearing at his back and launching himself off his opponent to flip and throw the kunai backward at another enemy nin flashing through seals. His small feet touched clung to the branch above him as he hung upside down to see the three ninja hit the floor simultaneously, the Iwa sign on their forehead protectors flashing in the afternoon sun._

The room of ninja turned around to see the boy standing there. Yellow unruly hair covered his forehead and hung off the sides of his face in unruly sideburns. His hair at the back spiked out, the excess being held together by a loose red ribbon that hung just below his neck.

Dark blue sandals strapped themselves to his small feet and tapped themselves lightly as he took steps. His orange cloak with red flames dragged on the floor slightly as it hung over his shoulders.

_"You never stop amazing me," The Kage smiled. "You're just like my grandson, you're like family."_

_The child looked up to see the smiling face of Asuma, his nephew perched on his shoulders, hugging his uncle's head tightly. He bent down and placed both his hands on his shoulders as the child on his head moved off and grabbed the sleeve of the boys arm._

_"You've earned it, you'll make a fine Jonin," Asuma smiled at the five year old._

The entire room looked at him with interest, every seat scuffled slightly as some rose from their seats to get a glimpse of the boy standing there. Naruto looked around the room slightly shy as the other much older Jonin stared at the six year old in awe.

"Thank you for coming, Namikaze-sama," The one with the owl mask bowed before motioning him to the seat next to another boy slightly older than him.

"Finally," The owl mask continued as he looked down at his sheet. "The final team for this years ANBU selection is Uchiha Itachi, Kichimi Ayame with their team captain, Namikaze Naruto."


	2. Chapter 1: Family Time

Chapter 1. Family Time.

"Namikaze-kun stop touching the damn food!" Ayame chastised as she whacked him on the back of the head with her wooden spoon.

"Itai!" Naruto cursed holding the back of his head before turning to the fuming girl with his cheeks puffed out. "Watch it lady! I'm still your superior in this team." He looked at the girl who glared back at him even angrier at the fact that he referred to her as 'lady'. He quickly tatted his tongue as she grasped his ear between her thumb and forefinger.

"Listen here Gaki," Ayame seethed as she wheeled him away from the food by his ear. The boy gingerly stepped in tow with her before she roughly shoved him onto a log and shoved both of her hands on her hips. "When I say that it's time to eat then it's time to eat, until then Sit-In-That-Chair." She finished flicking him on the forehead with each passing word. The boy huffed and crossed his arms before turning his face with his nose in the air. The girl huffed back before muttering to herself about insolent brats.

He smiled back at her turned back before sticking his tongue out playfully closing his eyes and blowing a raspberry at her. His eyes snapped open as his tongue stopped moving seemingly caught between the crazy girls fingertips as he flailed his arms in slight pain.

"Do that again and I'll rip it off!" Ayame challenged as she wagged his tongue up and down comically.

In many ways Ayame was like the older sister he never had. He would banter with her and play around with her as though she was blood related to him. While she would always pretend as though he was an annoying kid, the love she had for him was more than skin deep. Just like him, she was an orphan. At the age of twelve she trained in the arts of the kunoichi and since then had made her name in the world as the Deadly Lotus. Her wide knowledge of poisons allowed her to attack her victims while her incredible speed would allow her to dodge until the poison eventually killed off her opponent. Her wide knowledge of different poisons also came hand in hand with her knowledge of antidotes and healing plants, a knowledge she seemed to use extensively when it came to her teammates. At the age of Seventeen, she was the oldest member of what was known as the Shoutensan, the deadly three.

Her hair sat in a parted fringe that covered her left eye and forehead framing the right side of her face. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail while her black cargo pants were filled with different shuriken and explosive tags while the top half of her body was covered in a short singlet that stopped just underneath her bust. With kunai at her boots and belt and her Twin Daggers sheathed at her back, she was a force to be reckoned with, her use of Kenjutsu with her daggers second to none complimented her unorthodox use of Genjutsu.

He stared at the ground before snatching at the air in front of him, a fish impaled on a stick held firmly in his hand as he looked up and narrowed his eyes at the girl in front of him as she smirked wickedly at him before taking a seat next to him and eating the fish she had. He quickly started to gnaw on the fish rapidly trying to eat as quickly as he could. He looked over at Ayame who ate her fish slowly, picking at the meat with her fingers before placing it in her mouth and chewing. Rolling his eyes, he quickly finished off the fish before looking around in a bored manner, the girl still eating her fish as he rubbed his stomach noisily.

"Ayame-chan, you didn't cook enough again," Naruto grumbled as he felt his stomach churn.

"That's because you eat too fast," She replied as she bonked him on the head with her fist. He held his head with both hands before standing on the log they were sitting on with his fist in front of his face angrily.

"Stop hitting me old lady, I may be young but I out rank you and when I say stop hitting me it means stop bloody hitting me,"

A vein throbbed on Ayame's forehead as she stood on the log as well throwing what was left of her fish on the floor.

"Rank or no rank you're still a brat and when we're not talking about missions I'm the boss because I'm older than you!"

"Old is right!"

"Child!"

"Old Lady!"

"Gaki!"

"Tomboy!"

The two glared at each other angrily before turning around simultaneously in a huff and crossing their arms. He only stood just above her waist, his orange cloak now coming just above his ankles. His ponytail sat at his shoulder blades while his hair grew even more unruly from the time they first met.

"Still hungry?" She asked over her shoulder. When he grunted in response, she pulled out a rice ball and tossed it to him before going into the tent and taking off her top and pants before replacing it with a extra large t-shirt before quickly moving under the thick blanket, she looked out between the opening of the tent as Naruto doused the fire and moved into the tent under the blanket next to her. With both their backs to each other the two tried to go to sleep with the upper hand.

"Bitch," He muttered under his breath hoping she didn't hear him.

"Brat," She whispered in the same manner.

* * * *

The two of them scoped the camp below as two ninja left the large tent before standing at the entrance. Naruto watched as a larger group walked in a circle around a girl with her hands bound together, her face obscured from view from the gag that covered her face. With a look at Ayame she nodded at him before rushing through hand seals finishing on the horse seal, her chakra coating her as she disappeared from view. Her ultimate assassination technique was extremely versatile in that it allowed her to disappear until she spiked her chakra or attacked, the Inbijiburu no Jutsu _(Invisibility Technique)_. He quickly turned back down to the group of ninja down below as one struck her roughly across her face. His eyes narrowed as he placed the mask on his face, his eyes turned cold as he disappeared from view only to reappear in front of the girl. He jumped gracefully before roughly lashing out with both feet, catching two of the three people holding the girl in the face before wrapping his legs around the third's neck. He roughly twisted, snapping the ninja's neck before tossing the body away with his momentum and grabbing the girl. The two left only an afterimage as the group turned to their necks behind them to see the boy untying the girls' gag before standing in front of her.

The group sprinted at him quickly, desperate to take the new comer off guard with their taijutsu. He bent his legs as they came toward him before stepping into the closest one's guard and slamming his elbow into the forearm of his enemy, the bone breaking with a sickening crack as he jumped and flipped over him, using the force to throw the body into the enemy behind him. Two came in closer to him attempting to stab him with their kunai from different angles. He grabbed them both by the wrist and pulled them in, forcing them off balance before slamming the opposing kunai into the others neck before kicking them both in the face with a split kick pushing them away. His hands pushed off their shoulders while he was in the air, spinning and catching the sneaking enemy behind him under the chin with a kick before he landed on his feet and kneeing the final close ninja in the chin, breaking it as he reached out with both hands, snapping the neck and feeling the life leave the body in his arms.

The final three ninja and the two guarding the tent stepped forward. The two guards ran forward with enough speed to make Naruto widen his eyes. The one with the Rain forehead protector swept a low kick at his legs while Naruto flipped back, the other mist nin without a protector getting caught with a kick to the chin as Naruto landed on his hands giving two scissor kicks to the chest of the same ninja before pushing off and throwing a explosive tagged kunai at them and grabbing the girl, pushing her behind a tree. As the explosion cleared, he watched as the same two ninja got up from the ground groaning in pain. Naruto crouched low holding one hand in front of his body, his other closed in a fist at his waist as he exhaled slowly. Ayame suddenly appeared next to him via sunshin her back against his as the five ninja took their positions. Two faced in front of Naruto as the other two took a position in front of Ayame. The final one made toward the girl still cowering behind the tree. Ayame quickly unsheathed her daggers and rushed forward, dust kicking up behind her as she sprinted to her two opponents in front of her.

Naruto ran at his opponents before sliding between them as they attempted to cleave his head from his shoulders. He quickly continued to sprint at the final ninja who nearly made his way to the girl before jumping up and jamming a kunai into his neck, blood spurting out of his jugular as he gurgled struggling to breath. Naruto landed just as the nin fell to his knees before lifting his leg and roughly kicking the handle of the kunai, the point coming out the other side of his neck. He took up his stance again with his fist at his waist and his open palm in front of him, fingers slightly bent. The one on the left just landed on his last seal as his ally hit the ground pulling his hand back light gathered in his hand.

"Raiton: Raikou no Jutsu!" The Nin screamed as he thrust his hand forward. Bolts of lightning flew at Naruto at high speeds. _(Lightning Release: Lightning)_

Naruto grabbed the girl roughly by the back of her kimono and dived out of the way just as the lightning hit the tree behind him. It exploded with a loud crack as the two rolled once before Naruto stepped in front of the girl again flashing through seals. The second ninja was already finished his seals placing his palms together as Ayame thrust both her daggers into the hips of the said ninja before pulling them out and feeling the body slump to the floor, Naruto's chakra flared as he just about let his technique go before Ayame slammed her dagger into the chest of the Rain ninja and kicking him in the face. The body fell as Ayame placed her foot on the corpses chest and roughly pulled her dagger from him.

"You were supposed to take them out before they could use any techniques," Ayame said angrily narrowing her eyes at him.

"It wasn't something that could be helped," Naruto said wiping his hands with a cloth out of his pocket before wiping his cloak. The material repelled liquids in order to stop it from staining, a factor that saved Naruto many headaches. "I had to get her away from them before they knew they were under attack, they would have killed her before engaging us.

It was times like this that Ayame pitied Naruto. To be so young and to know the hearts of men like these wasn't something that she wished on anyone. Being a ninja was a part of her but at the same time she could still remember bits of her youth, an innocence that still kept her human. Naruto was as human as they came, caring for those closest to him and would die to protect them. At the same time, he knew the lies and deceit of the Shinobi world too well. A seven year old shouldn't know the intensions of a seasoned ninja, it wasn't right. To her it wasn't fair.

He walked to the girl and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to him as he stared into her pupil-less eyes.

"Hinata-sama, are you okay?"

* * * *

Naruto waved to Hinata as she stepped into her clan house before continuing down the road with Ayame walking in step with him, both her hands behind her head as she continued to stroll next to him making her way to the Hokage tower with him. Ayame walked with one eye open the other closed lazily as Naruto walked proudly with his back straight. His cloak flowed behind him; a torn strip of his shirt was tied around his wrist even though the bleeding had stopped. Every time he had cut himself with his kunai or received an injury from an enemy ninja he would simply tie a strip of his clothing tightly around it and wouldn't let Ayame heal it. He said it made him seem more human.

At first she didn't understand what he meant but after spending a year with she kind of understood what he meant. Even as they walked down the street, all the storeowners and customers alike would turn to him and bow courteously. To some it would be flattering, others would relish in it. To Naruto though it was one of the only things he couldn't stand, people only liking him because of his power, status and name. If his name wasn't Namikaze, he doubted that many of these people would even turn an eye to him.

"Hello Namikaze-sama"

"… Namikaze-dono"

Different people continued to greet him as he walked past. He nodded to them politely, occasionally offering them the casual smile as they continued down the road. Not one of them paid attention to her walking along side him. They couldn't miss her if they were looking at him, if it was Naruto's look that drew them to him, Ayame stood close to twice as tall as him with the same deep maroon colors she always wore. To say she was easy to miss would be a lie, for one she wasn't exactly the most unattractive girl, nor was she trying to be inconspicuous. She didn't speak up though; it was Naruto's battle to fight.

Instead of moving up the stairs the two jumped up the side of the tower before moving in through the window, seeing their team mate at the desk with the Sandaime, his face was down, the bangs of his hair covering his face from view. The two gently landed on the floor as they made their way to the front of the desk.

"Mission was a success Jiji-sama," Naruto said over his shoulder as he tossed a small scroll at the Sandaime before dropping himself onto the couch. He saw as the Sandaime plastered a fake smile on his face before reading the report and placing it on a stack. He took out two slips before handing them to Ayame as she walked over and fell on the couch next to Naruto, putting her feet up on his lap and lying down on the couch before handing him his slip. He put his own feet up on the coffee table in front of him before looking up at his teammate with a smirk.

"What's with the long face teme?" Naruto said with a laugh. "You look like someone died or something."

"Someone did die," Itachi said unusually cold. He hadn't spoken like that to Naruto in a long time. Making his way to the exit he paused at the door before leaving with three parting words. "Shisui is dead."

Naruto's eyes widened before looking over at the Hokage, his eyes begging for the Hokage to tell him it wasn't true. The Hokage sighed before nodding as Naruto felt himself close to tearing up. Shisui was Itachi's best friend and was a teacher to Naruto. When Naruto was developing his _Konoha no Mai_ (Dance of the Leaf) Technique, Shisui was the one who helped him out with the fundamentals before leaving Naruto to complete it for himself. He was a mentor to Naruto, a brother to Itachi and a close friend to both of them.

Ayame just watched as the boy gently lifted her legs off his lap before moving to the window and jumping out. She sighed before looking over at the Hokage, his face solemn. She regarded him before moving toward the same window Naruto jumped out of.

"Don't worry, I'll look after him," Ayame said placing a hand on her leaders shoulder.

"I hope you do," Sarutobi said taking his hat off and running a hand through his hair. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not enough, if I'm glad of anything, it's that he has you on his team. Sometimes I still think of you as that little girl I found out in the forest."

Ayame smiled at him before jumping out and running on the rooftops toward the Hokage Monument where she saw him sitting on the head of the Yondaime, his father. He wasn't talking, he wasn't moving, he was just sat there staring out over the village as always keeping everything to himself. She moved next to him taking a seat before wrapping an arm around him and pulling him into her shoulder.

"You okay kid?" Ayame asked sincerely. Naruto merely nodded his head and looked down.

"It's funny you know, we can kill the enemy and not think anything of it and who they leave behind. Yet as soon as we lose someone, it's the hardest thing to accept."

"I wish I didn't have to lose people," Naruto said quietly.

"I know you're upset about Shisui-"

"That's not it. First my mother, then my father and now Shisui who's next," He said with depression. He looked down at his small hands, hands that spilled blood many times before. He never thought twice about his victims. Who they left behind, who they were or why he killed them. He just did it because he had to, because it was what was needed of him. The two sat there and watched as the sun left the sky and darkness shrouded the area. For hours neither said a word, until Naruto untangled himself from the seventeen year olds arms and looked down at the girl that became the closest thing to a sibling that he ever had.

"Whatever happens Naruto-kun, you won't lose me," She said somberly, her eyes never leaving the village. He didn't want her to say that, for her to make a promise she couldn't keep.

"Come on," Naruto said as he grabbed the girl by the forearm and hoisted her up. "Let's go see Itachi."

The two of them rapidly jumped from rooftop to rooftop making their way toward the clan districts. Some of them had music on; others had the groups talking loudly as they passed with the lights on and many people outside. But as they neared the Uchiha district they new something was wrong. The place was completely dark with not a single sound disturbing the place. There was no movement; there was no life, the doors swung wide open eerily without any guards standing at their posts giving off the vibe of an abandoned town. The two moved carefully forward as Ayame took out her daggers and Naruto took out a kunai. Abandoning all care, fear or rationality, Naruto shot forward toward the main clan house desperate to find Itachi to make sure nothing happened to his team. He ran through, almost crying as he saw the dead bodies of his closest friends family littered around him. His best friend had lost his family, just like Naruto didn't have any family left. He shot forward into the master bedroom, his eyes widening in shock as he gasped at what he saw.

Itachi's mother stood dead at his feet, her eyes cold and lifeless but still held the look of love even as she died at her son's hands. She held onto his torso, as though holding on to the her baby for dear life as he sat there with his feet under his backside, his mothers head on his lap as he held his brother by the front of his shirt. His brother was still alive, staring back at him for the few seconds that seemed to pass like hours to Naruto. Then all of a sudden it happened, the boy Naruto's age let out a blood-curdling scream, snapping Naruto out of his revere. He watched as Itachi took out a kunai ready to end his brothers life before Naruto threw a kunai at Itachi's hand, the kunai embedding itself into the back of his hand and coming out the palm causing Itachi to drop the kunai. He looked at Naruto in annoyance before dropping the boy with a thud as he used his Shunshin to leave. Leaves swirled around him before the dropped to the ground, his mothers' body hitting the floor with a thud as her son disappeared into the night like a coward.

It was only then that Naruto did the one thing that made him appear like a normal child. He blacked out.

A/N: Unbeta'd so I could get this chapter out as soon as possible. After getting out of the writing game for a while, a friend of mine who read my stuff asked me to start up again. But after losing my train of thought with Rise of a Legend, I decided to go with something else. Hope you guys will enjoy this story.

Demonheat.

Ps. If you're interested in being a beta for me, please leave a message in a review


	3. Chapter 2: Betrayal

Chapter 2. Betrayal

_Naruto stood stoically and watched as Shisui's body was lowered into the ground, prayers being chanted around him as the rest of the Uchiha clan was laid to rest. The sky cried heavily as torrents of rain poured down on the cemetery, the sea of black figures quickly getting drenched as the umbrellas tried to shield them from the heavy downpour. Naruto stood there with no umbrella with his hands at his sides and face down as the rain mixed with his own tears._

_Shisui suffered, his family suffered and so did Naruto. Why? Simply because of the hunger for power that Itachi had. Since day one, he had always looked at Naruto with jealousy, never once beating him in a fight was like a slap to the face for Itachi. He was supposed to be the youngest ANBU, the strongest Shinobi in all of Konoha. Instead Namikaze Naruto, the legacy without a bloodline and without a clan, had up classed him. It was because of this that Naruto cried, he was never ashamed of who he was until now. If he hadn't joined ANBU, maybe Shisui would still be alive today._

_The groups around him seemed to fade as the people left the cemetery, Naruto still standing there, as he seemed to stare at the headstone as though it was supposed to do something. Shisui's broken katana, which was the only thing they found next to him that made them think it was a murder besides a suicide, lay on top of the freshly turned dirt in four almost even pieces on top of a silk cloth. He looked over his shoulder before quickly kneeling down and folding the silk over before picking up the broken katana and placing it in his backpack. _

_Standing up he placed a hand on the cold stone before standing up and walking back to his apartment. He didn't even bother looking around him or acknowledge the people looking or greeting him. He wasn't in the mood to socialize with fakes or even to pretend himself that he was okay. He really thought that Itachi was starting to come around. He had started to smile around them, fought with them instead of alone and even started to acknowledge Naruto as his Captain. If that was what was the case, why did Naruto feel like he failed his team as a Captain._

_Changing course, he moved down to the clan houses before stepping in front of a small house. Rain came down in torrents as he stepped up towards the small clan house that Asuma set up. Checking to see if anyone was watching he snuck into Konohamaru's room quietly before kneeling down next to the boys' bed._

_With a small smile, he took off his coat and placed it over the sleeping boys blanket before standing up and jumping out of the window. Closing it behind him, he didn't notice the pair of eyes that stood there watching his every move._

_Continuing on, he moved toward the Shinobi district of the village before breaking off into a run down the street. Jumping up onto the rooftops, he ignored the greetings and bows that the people sent his way as he ascended up the side of the building before climbing up a building wall._

_He jumped through an apartment window to see Ayame sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her nose was buried between her knees before she wiped her face off with the back of her hand. He landed on her floor off the windowsill with a squish as his wet sandals hit the bamboo mat on the floor. He watched as her head darted up and she smiled at him with red puffy eyes._

"_Naruto-taichou," She said standing straight._

"_Are you okay Ayame-chan?" He asked hollowly._

"_Fine," She said as she plastered a fake smile on her face and placed an arm around the small boy and pulling his head into her stomach in a small hug._

"_Tell me Ayame," Naruto said into her bare skin, never moving out of the embrace. "Have I failed you as Captain?"_

_She pulled away from the hug and kneeled in front of him before brushing the hair off his forehead and wiping the tears off his face. She then placed both hands on both his cheeks and made him look into her eyes._

_:"Listen here kiddo," She started sincerely. "You couldn't have done anything more than what you already did for Itachi and me and don't you ever forget about that. As strong as you are you're still just a child and believe me when I say you exceeded every expectation that this village could have possibly had for you and don't you ever doubt that you hear me?"_

_He tried to look down again but she held his face strong, her eyes holding the same stubbornness that they always had when they were bickering. He could tell she was waiting for an answer but couldn't bring himself to say anything; he just nodded silently before allowing her to embrace him again. As annoying as she was at times she was strong, kind and like him; knew exactly what to say and when to say it. In a big way she had influenced him into the person he was today and continued to do so. Which was why the same sentences repeated over and over in his head._

…_You couldn't have done anything more than what you already did_

_Did that mean that he wasn't good enough to lead the team? _

… _You're still just a child_

_He pulled his face away from her and smiled up at her before pulling an arm away from her and indicating she move closer. When she did he placed a small kiss on her cheek and threw his small arms around her neck before pulling away to see a wide genuine smile on her face. He moved a small hand behind his arm and untied his forehead protector before placing it into her hand and closing her fingers around it. The look of confusion suddenly turned to fear as she listened to his final words to her._

"_Keep it safe for me," He said simply as he pushed a pressure point in her neck and she felt her body go limp from the waist down._

"_No!" She yelled after him as he moved to the windowsill and stepped up on it before turning back at her._

"_When I return, it will be either dragging a kicking and screaming Itachi behind me, or dragging him back in a bag."_

"_You don't have to Naruto-taichou," She yelled after him as he moved to jump out. "What about me? You still have me please don't go please," She continued as tears poured down her face. First Itachi and now Naruto, she couldn't handle losing another teammate._

_Not knowing what to say back, he jumped out of the window, ignoring her screams for him to stop and jumped from rooftop to rooftop before pushing chakra into his legs and jumping over the wall of Konoha with a flip as he took to the treetops, the guards looking after him and wondering what was going on._

_He ran through the tree tops as quickly as his body could take him, pushing Chakra through his legs as he jumped from branch to branch as he sensed seven ANBU members chasing after him. He flipped as he jumped to the next branch and through several Shuriken at his assailants before landing on his feet and continuing on with even more vigor, the adrenaline pumping through him like never before. _

_The ANBU dodged the shuriken and pushed even faster, struggling to keep up with the boy. He'd been trained at a young age by a Kage, was the youngest serving Shinobi that the village had, let alone the youngest ANBU captain in history. It would be one long night if they hoped to capture him and take him back. One quickly flashed through seals before landing on the Tiger seal and placing two fingers to his lips._

"_Katon: Housenka no Jutsu," The ANBU said quietly as he blew multiple fireballs at the boy. (Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique)_

_The fireballs flew past the boy, lighting the branches in front of him on fire. He quickly jumped through legs first and spun with his arms tucked in building momentum before throwing two kunai back behind him. The kunai whizzed at the ANBU as they moved to dodge. The kunai was replaced with a Naruto as he jabbed two fingers into the neck of the ninja, hitting the same pressure point that he had Ayame before replacing himself with the second kunai and hitting the other Nin with his elbow knocking him out before crossing his fingers in front of him._

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Technique)_

_Two clones appeared next to him and grabbed the two disabled Ninja before falling down to the ground bellow and placing them gently against a tree before dispelling themselves. He looked at the remaining five elite ninja in front of him carefully noting the dog-masked one with silver hair. The one on his right shot forward and threw two kunai at him. Both kunai flew wide as Naruto stood there and waited to engage the approaching ninja. A glint caught the light as ninja wire attached to both the kunai embedded itself into the tree behind him and pulled him in. He flared his chakra quickly slamming his elbows into the trunk behind him as the kunai detached themselves from the vibrations and the wire fell off him. He pushed his feet into the trunk and kicked off it meeting the offending ninja in mid air before hitting him in the chest with a fist effectively winding him. Leaves fell from the tree Naruto kicked off of as he replaced himself with one behind the ninja before hitting a different pressure point and knocking out the ninja. Both bodies free fell as Naruto held onto the larger body and landed on his feet dropping the body before flipping backwards and narrowly missed getting hit from the dog-masked one's knee._

_Flashing through seals in mid air, Naruto slammed a fist into his stomach before firing four air bullets at the remaining Ninja in the trees. Two hit the branches they were standing on as one other missed and the fourth was dodged. The three remaining fell from the treetops and landed next to their leader._

"_Take the wounded," The dog-masked ANBU member said as he removed the mask from his face. The three disappeared from sight as they carried the ninja back with extreme speed. The mask was removed to reveal Hatake Kakashi as the said ninja moved his forehead protector off his eye to reveal the Sharingan and flying at him with blinding speed._

_The boy narrowed his eyes and blocked an offending kick, the force of it knocking him into the air. He landed backwards with one hand before lashing out with a kick. Kakashi blocked it and ducked as the smaller boy spun on two hands to lash out with three kicks before pushing off his hands and attempting an axe kick. The ANBU dodged left and hit him in the chest and hitting him roughly into the nearest tree._

_The boy grunted and winced as his back slammed into the tree. He narrowed his eyes angrily as the dog masked nin ran at him to follow up. Naruto turned and with a roundhouse kick roughly slammed his leg into the tree behind him. The tree shook with the force as leaves fell from the branches. Kakashi's eyes widened in fear as he stopped from reaching the downfall of seemingly harmless leaves, quickly flashing through seals as he flipped back. He watched with his Sharingan blazing angrily as the boy started doing the same._

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique"_

_A giant ball of fire flew from his mouth just as the boy finished on his last seal as well._

"_Fuuton: Renkudan," Naruto muttered as he drew in a deep breath and blew out two monstrous air bullets. (Wind Release: Air Bullet)_

_The first bullet collided heavily with the giant fireball only to have the two cancel each other out in terms of force. The smoke cleared as the second bullet charged at the Copy Ninja moved his head out of the way of the bullet, straining to see through the smoke. The ground at his feet burst open as rock flew around him and the boy exploded from the dirt to land a clean uppercut to his chin. Kakashi grunted in pain as the boy spun in mid air and slammed a spinning kick into his chest as Kakashi hit the tree behind him. The boy stood there in front of him panting loudly with emotion as the two fought each other on pure adrenaline alone. He was indeed his fathers' son, not many seven year olds could take on fight a battle at this level and still stare their opponent in the face with as much resolve as they had when they started the fight. Kakashi in many ways had a bond with Naruto that no one else had. Their relationship was an odd one Kakashi thought to himself as he reviewed the situation. Knowing what the outcome would be anyway he winced slightly as he got up from the ground and held his rib gingerly as he felt the bone move from the kick he received. Yep, he's definitely broken my rib,' He thought with another wince._

"_Why are you doing this Naru-kun?" Kakashi asked with a sigh. "Come back now, this is pointless."_

_Naruto stood there with his shoulders slumped. He didn't move as Kakashi moved closer slowly before reaching out hesitantly to place his hand on the boys shoulder. He flinched as Naruto suddenly stood up straight, slapping his hand away from him._

"_Don't touch me," He spat._

_Kakashi took his hand back with a sigh before standing there and regarding the seething child that stood before him. He was the strongest ninja in the village at the moment, let alone the youngest. Kakashi wasn't sure he could force him to go back even if he wanted to. His eyes regarded the panting child before he turned his back on him and took a step toward the way they had come._

"_I hope you know what you're doing, Taichou," Kakashi said calmly before making his way back to Konoha and leaving a small Naruto to himself. The boy never felt more alone then he did at that moment as he finally succumbed to his exhaustion and blacked out on the forest floor._

* * * *

Twenty three year old Kichimi Ayame walked through the hall with slight boredom on her face. Her hair had grown longer and was now tied into a high messy ponytail that fanned out behind her head held together by chopsticks. Her black battle kimono was tied together with a pink silk sash that tied in a knot at the front and reached lower than the end of the kimono. White floral prints donned the top left side of the part and fanned down to the right under the sash ending at the bottom of the kimono that only reached mid thigh. Her sandals were comfortable and unrestricting as she continued to make her way to the Hokage's office. She passed an ANBU ninja and gave them a courteous nod before continuing on her way.

Stepping to the door she walked into the office and stood in front of the desk with a hand on her hip and a slight bend in her knee. The Hokage sat there with his hands in his hair looking every bit his age as he continued to sigh heavily into his hands

"You look like shit old man," Ayame said as she dropped herself heavily onto the couch.

The Hokage muttered under his breath about the youth of today and no respect as the door opened to reveal Hatake Kakashi at the door, his eye smiling happily as he lifted a hand.

"Y-" He tried to greet as he felt a dagger press against his neck.

"Imposter," Ayame spat angrily. "Hatake is never on time, who are you?"

Both the Hokage and Kakashi sweat dropped as she pressed the dagger harder against his neck, just enough to draw blood.

"Ayame-chan, I made sure he made it on time here today. Believe me that's the real Hatake Kakashi I just needed to make sure both of you were here so I could talk to you about something very important that the two of you will be assigned to."

Ayame took her dagger away from Kakashi's neck cautiously keeping an eye on him as she sat down again and crossed her legs to avert the perverted ninja's eye from trying to sneak a peak up her kimono.

"Anyway, what's this about?" Kakashi said with his eye in a smile.

"The Genin's have graduated and the teams have been officially split. Hatake you already know that you're taking a team but because there are only eight teams we tho-"

"You wish old man," Ayame scoffed. "I haven't done a single mission with a team for six years, I'm not about to take some runts who are fresh out of the academy to baby sit."

"Hokage-sama, maybe you should let me take care of the two and test them first before you suggest this to Kichimi-san," Kakashi reasoned quickly as he glanced nervously at the girl next to him who was shaking with silent rage.

"Impossible," The Sandaime said taking a drag from his pipe. "You will not be testing these students to pass or fail, the only test you will be giving them will be to gauge what their levels are in terms of skill and specialties and then you will be training them accordingly."

"Sasuke is the last Uchiha we have and could very well be targeted by Itachi at any time since Naruto-"He paused slightly as he saw Ayame flinch so hard that he thought she might have had a seizure. "Since Naruto was the one to save Sasuke from Itachi finishing the job."

"Big deal," Ayame said snorting loudly. "I haven't cared for any of the Uchiha's for a long time and I'm not about to start now." She finished standing up to leave the room.

"Kichimi Ayame, sit down right now!" Sarutobi yelled slamming his hands on the desk. Never had he raised his voice at her and ordered her to do something. It was such a foreign development that Ayame was too shocked to leave the room. "Kakashi, you're to meet your team at six a.m. at training ground fourteen. Do not be late or my threat will be carried out."

The two sat there as though staring the other off. Ayame sat with her arms crossed leaning back in the sofa as she glared angrily at the old man who continued to glare back with equal amount of vigor. Both of them knew the severity of the situation, if the Hokage backed down, then there was no way that the kunoichi in front of him would take the mission. If she had backed down, he'd use his old mannishness to get his way. (A/N: Old Mannishness is what Ayame calls Sarutobi's 'old man charm' I'm not that bad with my English =P)

The two of them stood there staring each other off as though with a silent battle between the two of them. Electricity practically appeared between the eyes of the two of them before they finally decided to speak.

"You're taking this mission,"

"No I'm not,"

"You haven't turned down a single mission before and you're not turning down this one,"

"All the more reason for me to be allowed to refuse this one, I deserve to turn one down."

The Sandaime didn't even take his eyes off hers as he took a paper off his desk and put it down in front of her on the table. The two stared off before she lifted her hand that was supporting her off the desk and she took the paper between her fingers.

"Two Jonin looking after a team of two shouldn't be a problem at all for a C rank mission. Take Sakura and Sasuke with Kakashi to the Wave for their first mission. If after that you still don't want to take on this team, we'll talk."


End file.
